becoming a mad man, revisited

15 Aug, 2009 • posts i've written • No comments

In a bit of “holy shit that’s awesome” news, I see that my report, Becoming a Mad Man, is part of Henry Jenkin’s syllabus for the fall course he’s teaching on Transmedia Storytelling at USC. It’s sure to be poked, prodded, and maybe even dismissed, but I’m incredibly honored for its inclusion in the course.

By the way, season three of Mad Men starts today.

In the 8 months since I published the report, I’ve been rather obsessed with fan culture and have done my best to dive deep into Henry’s research (and the research of many other brilliant people). If you’d like to learn more yourself, here’s a quick roundup of my previous posts. I’ve also had the pleasure of working with a cable network to create a fan based strategy for their digital marketing team, a strategy based on the 30 years of fan research that came well before me. It was a blast, and I look forward to working with that team in the future to refine the model.

I’ve come to believe that the whole Mad Men on Twitter incident may have been small in the annals of fan expression, but it was a critical moment in time for digital marketers to take notice, be curious, and perhaps learn something. Some have learned, and some haven’t. When Paul Isakson gave up the @don_draper account to AMC, I had hoped that the network or its digital agency would have done something with it besides let it sit idle for 8 months. Instead of engaging fans during the off-season with the account, on a platform that is obviously ripe for tv fan expression, they’ve done absolutely nothing at all with it (an update: now you can help Paul man the account). But to be fair, I was happy to see the art of Dyna Moe used (she was much beloved by fans for her illustrations) in marketing this new season.

I’m excited for this new season. The writing and acting behind Mad Men never disappoints. Be sure to tune into AMC tonight at 10PM/9C.

Oh, and keep an eye on Bud Melman. I hear he’s got something up his sleeve.

mad men: fan made promos

16 May, 2009 • posts i've written • 1 comment

Lyle sent me these video promos he put together for Mad Men. I think they’re phenomenal (and they make me excited for season three, soon). These are as good or better than AMC’s promos and since it came from a fan, I’m apt to watch these over and over. By the way, someone hire Lyle.

mad men on twitter at sxsw

02 Mar, 2009 • posts i've written • 2 comments

So, my desk mate Mike and I are headed to SXSW in just a few days. He leans over and says, “Hey, there’s a mad men on twitter panel, why aren’t you on that?” Normally, Mike is a lunatic, and he’s not to be trusted. But sadly, there is a panel being run by Carri Bugbee (Peggy Olson and Shorty award winner). But, nope, I wasn’t asked to to discuss being a mad men character on twitter, or writing that report (that was covered by Henry Jenkins, and NYMag), or even about my feelings towards the future of fan and brand engagement.

Nope, you can’t file into a room to hear me speak on that panel. You’ll just have to come right up to me and have an old school one on one conversation about it. I’d love to see not just me speak about it, how about Paul Isakson? He was Don Draper! Or Rick Leibling? He played multiple characters. Maybe we can get Henry himself or Josh Green and others to circle up and chat. How’s Tuesday the 17th around 2pm?

I kid. I kid.

the fan economy

17 Feb, 2009 • posts i've written • 2 comments

I’ve been cobbling this presentation together for some time, even back when I was a Mad Man this was bouncing around this inside of my skull. Take a spin through and leave me any comments or concerns (either here or on Slideshare). If you enjoy it, please spread it. I’ll be expounding on this a bit in further posts coming to a blog near you.

interview with amc’s blogger

30 Jan, 2009 • posts i've written • No comments

A while back I did a quick phone interview with John Frankfurt who writes AMC’s Mad Men blog. John just posted the interview and sent me some nice schwag to say thanks.

Q: How are characters assigned or chosen from the show in Twitter?

A: Originally it was anyone who jumped on it and registered that account, because that’s the way Twitter works: If you have the account it’s yours. Main characters like Don Draper and Peggy Olson were picked first. After that, we see one person will run three or four accounts to pick up some peripheral characters so they can do really interesting things together. I think you’re seeing that with Francine’s character and Betty Draper, so they can experience what’s going on outside of Manhattan. For other people, it’s what resonates most with them.

I definitely prefer email interviews to phone, there’s always a good bit lost in translation, but I was happily surprised when AMC’s blogger reached out to me. The next step is talking to AMC proper, then Matt Weiner.

mad recognition

28 Jan, 2009 • posts i've written • No comments

What a week! First off, Henry Jenkins himself, the father of Convergence Culture, posted an entry about my report into my time as one of the Mad Men characters on Twitter. And then New York Magazine online picked it up and wrote a little ditty.

I’m pretty elated by Henry’s recognition of my blood, sweat, and welling of tears. Henry’s work, along with the work of his research assistants and students, is absolutely essential to the future of entertainment and culture (and more importantly to me, Henry has given me immeasurable inspiration). Beyond my mere involvement, I’m excited at how much attention fan work is receiving these days. It’s a good sign of the times. But it means there’s so much more to do and say and explore. Are you game?

After Henry posted his thoughts, a representative of Deep Focus quickly commented on the piece. Although I disagree with some of what he said, he was absolutely right by pointing out the hard work of the other Mad Men characters. If they do ever choose to reveal themselves publicly, I hope they finally can receive the personal recognition they deserve. You guys and gals really did blow me away.

I guess I need to add a press page to my site. I’m kind of a big deal on the internet now.

more learnings from becoming a mad man

22 Jan, 2009 • posts i've written • 1 comment

Flourish Klink is consumed. She co-founded one of the largest Harry Potter fan fiction sites, FictionAlley.org. She was one of the young fan fiction writers interviewed for Henry Jenkins’ Convergence Culture. Currently, she attends the Comparative Media Studies program at MIT, focusing on fan culture, and is co-chair of Formal Programming for Azkatraz 2009, a Harry Potter conference.

And she just interviewed me over at her new Fandom Blog.

In “Becoming a Mad Man,” you identify yourself as a fan, going so far as to defend that identity to Deep Focus, Mad Men’s digital marketing agency. How would you define that identity, “fan”?

I define a fan simply as someone whose enjoyment of something becomes part of their expressed identity.

I’m loathe to think of myself as a marketer first, or even a consumer first. It’s too convenient a trap to fall in to. Deep Focus didn’t know how else to treat me beyond the accusatory; but even your last post identified me as a marketer. In the digital space, I’m hired to help people think more like human beings; to rid themselves of the artifice of the Madison Avenue castle. Oversimplification is why we all feel insulted these days.

Go on and read the full post (and subscribe to the blog).

If you haven’t already, now’s a good time to read my full report on being a Mad Men character on Twitter.

Oh, and just a reminder, I want to write for your blog. Gratis. But you have to give me a great question or profound thought to ponder.

we are sterling cooper

08 Dec, 2008 • posts i've written • 1 comment

I must confess. I’ve been leading a double life. On Twitter, I’ve been masquerading as Bud Melman, a mailroom clerk at Sterling Cooper Advertising in 1962. I also built WeAreSterlingCooper.org. And for a short period of time, I ran a wiki where I tried to get many of the other Mad Men characters to play along and create story arcs between episodes.

I’ve written a full report about my other life, along with what it could mean for the future of entertainment. Download Becoming a Mad Man.

So why did I do it? Because I’m a fan of the show; maybe even the biggest fan. Sunday nights were a solemn ritual of tuning in (ask Vanessa). I’d even buy the episode off iTunes the next day to watch on the train. I didn’t let anyone out of my sight without going on and on about what a great show it was. That’s what fans do, turn on new people to your show, product, etc. The more creative we get (like Mad Men twittering), the more effective we can be.

I wasn’t the first to come up with the idea of bringing a Mad Men character to life on Twitter, though. I just thought the idea was insanely brilliant and I wanted to play along, too. It didn’t work out quite how I had hoped, but I’m incredibly thankful for all the new people I’ve met and the support they’ve given me.

UPDATES

In a bit of “holy shit that’s awesome” news, I see that my report, Becoming a Mad Man, is part of Henry Jenkin’s syllabus for the fall course he’s teaching on Transmedia Storytelling at USC. It’s sure to be poked, prodded, and maybe even dismissed, but I’m incredibly honored for its inclusion in the course.

In addition, the report and my activities were recently cited in Grant McCracken’s latest book, Chief Culture Officer (p. 91)